ssean92

iTrader: (10)

Subcribed

Lonnie P

It will be green under the hood. Got everything sanded this past weekend.
Hopefully painting this upcoming weekend.

Pino91Form

I plan on doing a similar swap with my 91 formula. will be checking for updates on this post.

Lonnie P

After a long day today, it is finally painted under the hood.
Turned out pretty well.

I'll post some pictures tomorrow.

Lonnie P

As promised...






1 step closer....

Lonnie P

Got everything buttoned up today after the cam & spring change.

Finally got it in the car.

Here are a few pictures.



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Lonnie P

Spent 4hrs today moving the engine back 1/4". Wanted to gain a little pan to k-member clearance. Stretched & pulled everything possible, & redrilled a few bolt holes to get everything where I wanted it. Now the headers fit better & the pan has ample clearance.

Fitting the 4th gen plastic tank, the braided lines & a hot-wire kit.
Installed a 0-90 ohm sender & a Racetronix pump while it was apart.

TEDSgrad

iTrader: (4)

We need interior pics, too!
Keeping the stock cluster?

Thought I saw the stock tq arm(could be wrong) - not going back in, right?
What diff do you have?

What spring changes do you have in mind?

Putting in a bung for wide-band tuning while it's easy?

HP52TA

iTrader: (4)

Very nice looking build.

Are you planning to install some SFCs before all the painting is done? Your going to need them with that LS3 power.

Lonnie P

Actually I welded the subframes in after painting.
I just touched up the welded areas.

I did not want to have unpainted areas above the SFC's.

Currently painting the suspension components & reinstalling them.

New Strange rear should be here in about 2 weeks.

I'll post some pictures of the assembled underside very soon.

Lonnie P

I'm keeping the stock cluster.
As for interior pictures, it is just a clean factory grey interior.
Putting in a new carpet & headliner.

The diff is still stock, until the Strange S60 comes in.
Should be here in about 3 weeks.

Still have the stock torque arm, not sure I want to change it.
I'm not building a drag car so it should be OK. My 95 Camaro went 10's on a stock torque arm, but finally bent it.






As for springs, I have competition Global West in the front & Strano in the rear with a set of Koni's. It is about 1/2" lower than the picture of the car posted in post#19 above.

TEDSgrad

iTrader: (4)

You'll need that 1/2" as the alum block will bring the front up just about that much.
I'm no expert, but ask your advisers on the TA. Not only for strength (major), but also adj for pinion angle (minor) - measured pinion angle, yet? Lot more torque especially with a stick. With same exhaust, LS2, auto, and a 0 knock retard tune I got 382 rwhp - guessing 420-35ish depending on tune characteristics.
I kept Gen IV computers, DBW pedal, so I needed Dakota boxes for speed & tach, not sure for you. Also kept everything close to stock looking. Black leather Corbeau seats, re-upholstered backs to match, and black leather section in door panels to totally rid interior of the "dove grey." That light grey invited the eye into the cabin too much and away from the body lines. Thought of tinting/smoking, but nahh.

Lookin' Good - always loved that green.

Lonnie P

Thanks,
Looking to tint the windows before they go back in.

Thought of some different upholstery, but I'll worry about that as the next upgrade.
This got out of hand... it was just going to be a paint job, then the trans started slipping.
So I thought it was a good time to put in a LS1/4L60E. Then the LS3 came along & the trans became the issue putting a older trans with the new LS3 electronics. Then the T-56 came along & saved me some money & electronic issues. Plus I miss shifting gears.

Hoping the car puts down in the mid 430-440 range.

I never was a fan of green, but it grew on me.
Seems a lot of people like the color, plus it is not as common of a color as red & black, although black is my favorite with red a close second.

I contemplated the DBW setup & computer, but went with the earlier style as I'm comfortable with tuning the older LS1 style cars. The drive-by-wire still causes me some concern, so I chose to stay away from it.

My springs are 800#, so the motion ratio of the front suspension puts the wheel rate at around 550#/in. If so, it should not come up much, removing 200# from the front.
It is nice installing these springs... just set them in the lower control arm & jack it up... no prying or compressors needed.

As for the pinion angle, I have to check it once the new rear goes in.
I never checked it before & it never vibrated or caused me any grief... but I will now have 3x the HP over the TBI 305.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

What cam you go with? Typical ls3 seems to be 450-470 whp with a 230's deg cam. My buddys '10 ss made 468 with texas speed grind and saw another one make 430's on a mustang dyno which reads alot lower

Lonnie P

I went small on the cam as I want to cruise around in 6th gear & not shift it constantly. It is a custom 218/232 setup for a future ProCharger. I've built my share of max performance setups to know that I want my daily driver to be smooth & get good mileage. When I drive it to work, I'll see 65mi/day of backroads & traffic, so I went conservative. I may have sacrificed 15-20hp, but I'm cool with a mid 500hp (flywheel) driver with good manners.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

It will still make power thats gonna be one fun car

Lonnie P

I figure I can make it easily run mid 11's.
Just trying to build a reliable driver that I can Autocross or take to the strip when I get the urge.

If I get bored with it, I can add a supercharger later.

If you are in the area you can stop by & check it out.... quite a bit of change since you saw it last. Besides I want to see your Camaro.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

Yeah i will make a trip sometime. I wanted to get down to smithton to get weighed and your not too much farther.

blakecharles

wow!

Lonnie P

Getting the wiring sorted out at the moment.

Things are going well, with a special thanks to Pocket for all his informative posts & diagrams. It made cutting over the wiring an easy task.

EjBaL

Nice clean work man! Looks great, can't wait to see more! Please get some video when you get it running!

Lonnie P

Progress has been slow this week. Got tied up with work related projects, so the car got ignored.

Got some wiring components in & some heat shielding for the fuel lines.
Hopefully I can get the wiring finished up over the weekend.

TPI-Formula350-

very nice setup

TEDSgrad

iTrader: (4)

I did a crude heat shield for fuel & trans lines, too. Trans cooling lines I used an uncut sheath - for the fuel lines, I split it open and wrapped around with zips. I'm sure you want better considering the detail of your build, but for viewers; here's a crude but effective wrap. It goes up along rail by the header tubes.

Lonnie P

I actually just got a section of foil shielded fiberglass sheath from Racetronix.
It will hold my -8 & -6 braided lines & also my hotwire.

As you show, the dr. side header is incredibly close to the floor where the lines pass by. I really do not want to run the lines in the trans tunnel above the trans. The heatshield will allow me to run them close to the exhaust leaving a nice straight path to the front of the car.

FASTERTHANUMARK

iTrader: (37)

Wow your car brings back memories

FASTERTHANUMARK

iTrader: (37)

88FormulaKiller

iTrader: (8)

Can i ask why you opted for the T56 Vs. an MN12?


Nice car btw.

Lonnie P

Wow, that Formula looks exactly like mine did a few years back.
Where did that cold-air kit come from... never saw one of those before?

As for an MN12, I prefer a T56. No need for the wide ratio low gear in a light car & I want the higher overdrive for better mileage. Plus, when I could get the T-56 with everything including pedals from an '02 it made things too easy. For a while there I was contemplating a 4L60E, but the T-56 sort of worked out perfectly for less money.

Lonnie P

Got the rear this week & started the install.

Trying to get enough room to use the Strange cast cover with the Watts link. Things are tight.

Here are somet pics of the rear & driveshaft.

HP52TA

iTrader: (4)

Looking great Lonnie!

Very interested in your S60 install, so please don't be shy with pictures. What rear brakes are you going with?

Thought it was strange to see a grease zirk on the axle bearing??? Or am I missing something here?

Lonnie P

I'll post more pictures soon.

I used the 93-97 F-body brakes as they easily fit the 3rd Gens & even use 3rd gen e-brake cables.
I put these on my car with the stock rear a few years ago.

As for the S60, it is a beefy rear. It requires a shorter driveshaft due to its larger size.
I did not want a rear this big, but at least I do not have to worry about breaking it.

The 12 bolt is about 25# lighter, but the 12 bolt has a clutch posi & I liked the torsen style posi for the handling characteristics that the S60 comes with. It is also cheaper than a 12 bolt, but factoring the driveshaft in & it costs slightly more.

I figured the 1LE aluminum driveshaft was on borrowed time, so I went with the driveshaft & S60.

I'm currently dealing with a fitment problem because of a finned aluminum rear cover.
Strange said it will not clear the panhard rod, but I have a watts link, so I gave it a try. It almost touches, so I made a few modifications to get it to clear.

Now I am seeing it may touch the gas tank just about the same time the bump stops contact the housing. I used a 99-02 Camaro plastic tank & one of the ribs on the bottom of the tank appears to be a problem. I have to try the steel cover & see if I want to go this way or be more creative. I still have to get it on the ground to verify the tire is centered front-to-rear. I bought the adjustable control arms so I can tweak if necessary.

The 2nd rib from the left shown below is the problem.


There is a ton of room with the stock rear.

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Awesome. I have the same driveshaft too. Strange is 60 seconds from my place!

Lonnie P

I guess you saved a few hunderd in shipping on yours...

robguitargod1

iTrader: (4)

Yep, but you still get burned having to pay tax.....

HP52TA

iTrader: (4)

To get the full effect out of those nice LCAs and brackets, you may want to think about upgrading that torque arm as well. I know you mentioned the stocker on your 95 lasting till you bent it, but imagine what kind of movement was going on under there until that occurred. Even some aftermarket arms have two strength versions based on use.

With running the stock torque arm, you are going to give up some traction to axle wrap when it flexs under traction. Everything around it has been built so well with it being the weak link.

SlickTrackGod

Looking great- we'll chat soon. I want to talk to you more about the Watts and how the car reacts with it.. This lighter motor will change the feel of that for the better and you should be able to reduce the rear swaybar size, or at least close in the mounts positions on the axle a little more to free up mechanical grip off the corners.

The Watts makes a car feel more predictable, but the roll center does not migrate left or right like it does on the panhard so you need a slighly larger rear swaybar than the PHB. THe lighter motor will have a fairly drastic psitive effect reducing the diagonal weight transfer of the chassis using the Watts setup.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

I got a truetrac posi in my 12 bolt with 35 spline axles. Its a worm gear torsen style diff and is why i went with it. I loved my 4th gen fbody torsen diffs. But s60 should be abit stronger being nearly 2 " larger on ring gear. Thats beefy

Lonnie P

The S60 has a Torsen style posi also. One of my reasons to use it over the 12 bolt is it cost less & came standard with the Torsen diff, whereas the 12 bolt was an add price. The only drawback is the added weight of the 60.

Dean,
My car worked great with the Watts in the top hole & a 24mm bar. I was contemplating lowering the roll center & keeping the 24mm bar with a stiffer spring, similar to what the guys do with the relocated panhard.

Currently at my height, the pivot is about 2" (guestimate, not measured) below the centerline of the axle. Obviously way higher than the front roll center.

Going from an iron headed automatic to a aluminum LS w/ T56 should free up a bunch of front weight. I also installed the engine as low & rearward as possible (limited my mechanical interferences). Hoping it makes a big difference in handling.

I still need to get weight on the tires to see how it sits height wise with the new engine.

I have more pictures of the rear suspension, but left the camera in the garage w/ the car.

Ran into a bunch of interferences...
The cast aluminum rear end cover hit the gas tank at full suspension compression.
The caliper e-brake brackets hit the control arm relocation brackets.
Driveshaft hit the exhaust at full droop.
Brake hose & e-brake cable were not getting along.

Respaced the links/mounts for the watts to straighten out the angles.
Shortened the swaybar links to make them level.

Literally spent a whole day making all the parts fit. After some bending, welding & painting it all looks factory. ... and hopefully no squeaks or rattles.

TEDSgrad

iTrader: (4)

Even with 3" alum DS, have not had problems, though very tight - now the y-pipe w/4L65e is a very different thing.
The pic with the BMR cross-member, I eventually dimpled slightly and welded on a poly xhaust hinge piece to keep xhaust and cross-member spacing - helps to keep spacing with DS, also. I used the straight cross-member for max ground clearance - I hammered on top of it before install for more clearance, as well.
I'll get a better pic of that, tomorrow.

Been thinking of the S60, also (years out). LS2 will allow L92 heads and LS3 intakes in the future, but for now staying stock to help the 9bolt live til then.

Brian

Lonnie P

My clearance issue was at the rear when the suspension is unloaded. The DS drops down & touches the pipe just before the upward bend.

TEDSgrad

iTrader: (4)

Lonnie,
Don't know if these will help, but here's some.
I remember trying different hanger positioning - pic 1.
Angle of tube going over axle - pic 2.
Look down tunnel - pic 3.

My stands are underneath the axle side LCA boxes.

TEDSgrad

iTrader: (4)

I had to shave off the bolt head for clearance - green
Hammered cross-member and dimple tube - red
Hanger attached to keep things in proper spacing - blue

And a side shot for clearance

TEDSgrad

iTrader: (4)

I have GW SFC stitched welded. I'm considering adding some bracing now that the cross-member is in - now an "H" with the cross-member a little closer to the rear. Force being applied to SFC through the cross-member. Additional bracing forward might be beneficial. I'm thinking some DOM tube like this car on both sides into the tunnel rail.

Lonnie P

TEDSgrad,
Thanks for the pictures.

Your exhaust appears to be in the same location as mine.

I am very tight to the watts link mount (that replaces the panhard brace), but it clears.

The rear band clamp that connects the 2 rear pipes together had a lot of clearance with the stock rear, but got very close with the S60. Enough that I had to reposition the band clamp. The rear is physically much larger & takes up a ton of room under the rear of the car.

I also noticed that the rear pinion is higher than the trans due to how low the car is.
I may tweak the trans slightly to raise it up. Have to check a bunch of angles to see where everything fits with the least grief.

I'll take some pictures this weekend.

dieseldog

can't wait to see this finished!

Lonnie P

Progress has been slow for a few weeks here.
I got buried in work so I had little time for the car.

Started routing fuel lines & then had to sell my fuel regulator & a bunch of fittings to a customer as I ran out of stock. Now that I have my parts back, I am getting ready to bolt things together.

Hoping to make some progress this weekend.

boricua24

If you don'tmindme asking how much was that 2011 ls3 cause that is the swap I'm looking to do on mine?

Lonnie P

Found it for $4500. A lot of cash, but it was a complete take out from a car with only 12 miles on it. Car was driven directly from the dealer to a shop where they pulled the engine to replace it with a blown LSX.

boricua24

Wow! So im guessing that this hole swap would take about $10, 000 give or take ha?